Packing and Scooters and Peek!

It’s almost here! Summer Institute is less than a month away. We hope you’re excited. We certainly are. We’re excited, and we’re here to help. We’ve got a few things to tell you, to make your trip easier, so let’s get started.

Many you are asking about the packing list. We have one, but somehow, things stayed on the list that were no longer necessary, and somethings never made the list. Well, we’ve updated the list. It can be found by clicking this link: http://omdsi.camp9.org/page-620551. Remember, these are only suggestions. It’s your week, what you bring is up to you.

There’s one thing on the list that confuses some people. We suggest that you bring a PEEK! prize, with a reusable grocery bag. Unless you’ve been to Summer Institute, you may not know what PEEK! is.

PEEK! is a card-and-dice game where there are no losers, and everybody wins a prize. It was invented by Sam Hens-Greco’s Uncle Carl, and Sam, along with his wife, Kathryn, and his two daughters, Kaitlyn and Eliza, present it on Thursday night. To play, all you do is roll the dice, and turn over a card that represents the number you rolled. Everyone around the table has a prize under their chair, and if you win a round by turning over your cards fastest, you can peek at everyone else’s prize, and trade yours for one. At the end of the evening, everyone gets to look at their prize. There’s one important rule – you must take your prize. You can trade it with someone, you can give it away, but the prize must leave the building at the end. You can always hang on to it, and bring it back next year.

But what, I hear you asking, are the prizes like? Well, they tend to be small, can be new and inexpensive, can be gently used, and should be heartfelt, or at least be something you want out of the house. They should be small enough that they fit in the reusable grocery bag (Sam wants to do away with paper), so no one can see them during the game. At the end, if nothing else, you can keep the grocery bag.

Oberlin is not a large campus, but there is enough distance and walking involved that you should be aware of it. We do run golf carts, which you can catch along the route, which is marked on the map in your registration kit. You can also call the golf carts using the number found on the scheduled. However, they do not run at all times. If you need it, we recommend that you rent a personal scooter. Call NPL Homecare in Elyria, OH at 440-365-8581, ask for Cody or Ashley, and tell them this is for Summer Institute, 7/9-15. Cal Frye, our golf cart head, will be picking them up on 7/7, and returning them on 7/17. If you have a financial need around personal mobility issues, please contact Lois Weir: locavorelois@gmail.com. There are funds in the scholarship fund that we can make available to those who have mobility issues and financial need.

We hope this is helpful. If you have any additional questions, there will be an email sent out on July 1 to those who are registered, giving you the final details that you’ll need (assigned sleeping quarter, morning seminar, etc.). You can also email me at brucekent1782@gmail.com and I’ll try to answer your questions. On behalf of the SIPC, I look forward to seeing all of you there.